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It's strange to think that any band can be forced into a hiatus before even making their first album, but that's exactly how it went for Maryland's foursome The Dangerous Summer. Graduating high school and instantly heading out on tour would take its toll on anyone, but it got a little too much for frontman AJ Perdomo. After leaving the band, and taking to living in his car for a year, he made a return and refound his feet with the writing of their debut album 'Reach For The Sun': a perfect example of caring and honest pop punk, that everyone should be listening to right now.

We caught up with AJ on his band's first trip to the UK, on this year's Give It A Name Introduces... tour.

OS: How are you today?
AJ Perdomo [vocals, bass]: I'm doing good, just hanging out. I've been tired, this whole tour is really tiring. The jetlag is bad, but I'm feeling good.

OS: Good! What's it been like being in the UK so far?
AJ: It's been awesome. The crowds have been crazy, responsive and some people actually know us. It's unreal to actually go some place and have people know your music. It's been awesome: good crowds and fun times, partying it up.

OS: So, have you managed to see any of the UK as it's your first time here?
AJ: Um, a little. It's hard to get out of the venues everyday; we just show up, load in, try to find food and play a show, so you know... The people though, just talking to them in general is fun. That's like seeing the UK. The culture is just so different, all the people are real nice but I haven't seen much of the attractions or anything like that.

OS: I think it's always difficult on a band's first UK tour to get out of that. What's it been like to come over here and have a fresh start? Because obviously you do have a bit of a name for yourself back in the States.
AJ: Yeah, I mean, it's a lot different. It's kinda like when we started touring in America, except a few more people know us, you know? Out first tour in America was maybe two people a night [knowing us] and we built that up. But here it's like we at least have a sort of name for ourselves and people have been buying merch and it's been fun, it's been crazy.

OS: Let's talk about the album 'Reach For The Sun' which has just been released over here.
AJ: We just released it April 12th over here. We're actually working on a newer album that's probably gonna come out next year. So, that's what we've been working on.

OS: But you released 'Reach For The Sun' in America back in 2009. Is it strange to be working on new material now but to still be playing those new songs to new audiences?
AJ: Yeah, it is weird. I guess I never really thought of that, but it's like all of a sudden people are hearing this music. We've been so tired of it because we've been playing that stuff for a year now. So, we're just getting pumped to play new stuff already.

OS: So what would you say 'Reach For The Sun' is about?
AJ: It's just about my life and the struggles I've gone through, especially before the band. I went through a whole period where I basically just lived in my car and I just had a hard time. It's kinda about the hope that I had through all of that - getting into touring and doing stuff like that; finally picking myself up. Just the positive aspects of moving forward in life.

OS: You actually left the band at one point, didn't you?
AJ: Yeah, we took a good year break and just lived in the real world. Then we came back to tour after that.

OS: So, having gone through that, why did you come back to the band, and music?
AJ: Because I loved it. Our fans encouraged me more than ever to keep going with it because they were telling us how much our music had affected them. At home it was just harder without the band, so we got back into it and everything worked out and we're all happy with what 's going on. We wrote the album before we knew we were even going to start touring and we loved it, so just stayed with it and we've been there since.

OS: Do you think it was important to write and record all the album before you went out on tour again?
AJ: Yeah, definitely. The EP was like 7 songs which we wrote when we were in high school, so we felt we had to get past that. We graduated in 2007 and we got signed the same year. We didn't even know anything that was gonna happen and we just wrote some songs, so it's cool to take another look at it and write some more songs after actually knowing you're gonna be in a band for a living.

OS: What is it like to have left high school and gone straight into the life of a touring band? That must be such a strange experience.
AJ: It was crazy and I think that was one of the reasons we took a break for a year. It was just like we graduated, and then a week later we were on the road and we didn't get a chance to do things like Senior Week - where all the Seniors go out and party. We never got a chance to have that transisition period. It was just too hectic for us, and it kind of lead to a downfall, but we picked ourselves back up eventually.

OS: Do you have a favourite song off the album?
AJ: My favourite song is 'Never Feel Alone'. I just liked the way it turned out and it came together really fast. It's just kind of random how it happened and I love it, I love playing it live. I get to scream as loud as I can so it's awesome.

OS: Are there any particular stories behind a particular song?
AJ: It's all just kind of things I was going through at the time. The girl aspect of it, I had just met this girl and it was kind of a new thing for me and that's a lot of it. Then, a lot of it is dealing with my Mom and her hate towards me touring and getting into the band. Just stuff like that. It was a weird point in time and it was me pulling myself out of a dark place, definitely.

OS: You can connect with the lyrics so much.
AJ: Thank you so much. I hope so, I hope people enjoy it.

OS: What's been your favourite moment so far of being in the band?
AJ: I think one of the really cool things we did was getting to open for The Starting Line reunion show. That was unreal because I remember being in 8th Grade and being like, "God I love The Starting Line". We're actually really good friends with Kenny, the lead singer, now and just to be able to call him and be like, "Hey Kenny, what's up man?".. If I had of known that I would have achieved half as much as I have when I was younger, it would have blown my mind. It's unbelievable! So that was probably one if the biggest highlights. Coming here is crazy too; being able to travel to a different continent is just unreal, it's slowly sinking in.

OS: Is there anything you want to achieve with the next record? What do you want to say with it?
AJ: I think, I don't know. I'm in a totally different place. It's gonna be stronger lyrically. I have a lot more confidence now because I'm doing music full time; I kinda know what I'm doing and have more of a focus in my life. It's gonna be happier. Just more hopeful, I guess. It should be good.

OS: Do you have any future plans for the rest of the year or coming back to the UK?
AJ: We should be touring a bunch for the rest of the year along with writing in between. Hopefully we'll be back in the UK in the fall.

OS: People have been whispering about Reading and Leeds.
AJ: Yeah, everyone's whispering! That idea is something that we'd like to do but nothing is confirmed yet. But hopefully we get to hit some festivals in the fall. It's up in the air, so we'll see.

Special thanks to Nicola O'Neil for her transcribing efforts!